Coiling textile strands

ABSTRACT

Strands of textile fibers, such as slivers, are coiled in cans at controlled density and more especially at even density throughout, by employing a guide eye which does not merely rotate above the can mouth but has in addition a radially reciprocating component of motion. The coiling device achieves this motion by means of a radially movable slide on a rotary guide member, the slide carrying the guide eye and being actuated by a cam and follower mechanism. The shape of the cam determines the packing density in different portions of the can.

United States Patent J ohnels [54] COILING TEXTILE STRANDS [72] Inventor: Arne Johnels, Boras, Sweden [73] Assignee: l.W.S. Nominee Company Limited, London, England [22] Filed: June 5, I969 [21] Appl. No.: 830,608

[30} Foreign Application Priority Data June 7, 1968 Great Britain ..27,199/68 [52] US. Cl ..l9/l59 [51] ..B65h 54/80 [58] Field otSearch ..19/157, 159, 159 A; 242/82 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,316,598 5/1967 Whitehurst ..19/159 3,478,399 11/1969 Wyatt et al "242/82 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 13,173 1850 GreatBritain ..l9/l59 221,905 9/1942 Switzerland ..l9/l59 Primary Examiner-Dorsey Newton Attorney-Stowe" & Stowell [57] ABSTRACT Strands of textile fibers, such as slivers, are coiled in cans at controlled density and more especially at even density throughout, by employing a guide eye which does not merely rotate above the can mouth but has in addition a radially reciprocating component of motion. The coiling device achieves this motion by means of a radially movable slide on a rotary guide member, the slide carrying the guide eye and being actuated by a cam and follower mechanism. The shape of the cam determines the packing density in different portions of the can.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEBL 8?? 3,638,278

sum 2 or 2 mew/1231a COILING TEXTILE STRANDS The present invention relates to coiling strands of textile fibers, and more especially to the coiling of strands such as slivers into cans for transport or storage.

In spinning textile fibers into yarn, the process generally consists of several stages and it is often necessary or desirable to store the intermediate or semifinished product. In the earlier stages of the spinning process, the textile material is commonly in the form of sliver and is then generally stored in cans.

A can is a cylindrical container and the sliver or other fibrous strand is coiled therein, usually by supporting the can on a slowly rotating platform and feeding the strand into the can through a flyer having a fixed guide orifice or eye, the flyer being rotated about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the can at a speed much greater than the speed of rotation of the can.

It is known that coiling apparatus of this kind does not give even packing of sliver in the can. The sliver is packed more densely near the middle of the can and next to the cylindrical wall thereof than in the intermediate regions. If the sliver could be packed with the same density throughout the can, the same can could contain a greater length of sliver.

The present invention has as its object the provision of a method and apparatus whereby a fibrous strand can be coiled in a can to a predetermined density distribution over the cross section of the can.

According to the present invention a strand of textile fibers is coiled in a can by feeding the strand into the can through a guide which is rotated relative to the can about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the can, which guide imparts to the strand a predetermined motion radially of the guide which is superimposed on the rotary motion of the strand, whereby the strand is distributed in the can in a predetermined manner.

The can is preferably rotated about its longitudinal axis at a relatively low speed and the guide rotated at a relatively high speed. An equivalent motion can be achieved by causing the can to move without rotating, so that its center describes a circle about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the can.

The invention also provides apparatus for carrying out this method, the apparatus comprising a support, preferably rotatable, for carrying a can, a rotatable guide member mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to that of the longitudinal axis of a can on the support and in a position to feed a textile strand through a guide orifice into the can, means for rotating the guide member relative to the can support and means for causing the guide orifice to reciprocate radially of the guide member during rotation thereof. The latter motion is preferably achieved by means of a cam follower and a cam surface disposed about the axis of rotation of the guide member, either the follower or the cam surface being attached to a radially reciprocable guide element in which the guide orifice is formed.

Using the present invention, a strand can be packed in the can to any desired density pattern. In most cases, emphasis will be on evenness of packing and by using the invention it is possible to achieve an increase of up to 25 percent in the storage capacity of each can. The invention is especially useful in coiling sliver to be dyed in the can, where even distribution is important for level dyeing. Where special effects are required, it is of course possible to pack the strand in a desired and predetermined uneven manner, by altering the characteristics of the radial reciprocating motion of the guide.

The invention will be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram indicating the locus of a strand under various conditions;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams illustrating the calculation of strand locus to give even packing; FIG. 4 is a vertical section through apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a section along the line VI--VI in FIG. 5.

In FIG. I the cross-sectional area of a conventional can available for packing is considered as being divided into 10 rings of equal radial width. The epicenter of a conventional rotary flyer is indicated at F. The locus of a fixed guide eye or of a sliver fed into a stationary can when the flyer is rotated is then shown by the broken circle A. When the can is rotated in the direction of the arrow at one-tenth of the angular velocity of the flyer, the locus of the sliver is that shown by the broken curve B.

It has now been observed that the packing of the strand in such conditions is of uneven density owing to the fact that the length of strand deposited in each notional ring is not proportional to the area of the ring, being higher near the center and near the wall and lower in between. This is shown by the following Table which is calculated for 10 such rings covering the available area of a conventional can with an outside diameter of l9 inches and a 6-inch diameter center.

It follows from this observation that an even density can be obtained in the can if the guide orifice or eye of the coiler delivers into each element of area an amount of sliver which is proportional to the area of the element. A suitable locus is shown by the curve C in FIG. 1, and the effective locus when the can is rotating at one tenth of the speed of the flyer is shown by the curve D.

The equation of such a locus may be calculated as follows.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is required that an amount of sliver, dS, be delivered which is proportional to an element of area r dd) dr.

Thus dS=k r d dr (1) dS =r (d) l-(dr) (2) Equation l can be simplified. If we assume that dS is proportional to the area of an annular element with radius r and radial thickness dr, we get dS =k, 21rr dr; (3) Equations (2) and (3) are combined (Zn q) (dr) )*-l-(dr) If 21rk is replaced by another constant k, we get (k r*-l) (dr) =r (d) where C is an integration constant.

Id A I A;

tgA:

.be obtained from equation (7). The curve is shown in FIG. 2.

The curve so obtained represents the locus of the guide orifice, or the locus of the strand coiled in a stationary can. The cam profile required to give this locus can readily be determined by standard procedures.

In .FIG. 3, the curve A is the locus of a fixed eye in a conventional flyer, and curve B that derived by the foregoing calculation. Curve C is the locus of a strand coiled by a conventional flyer in a can rotating at one-tenth the speed of the flyer, and curve D the locus of strand in a similarly moving can, fed by an orifice executing a motion as shown by the curve B.

One example of apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 of the drawings.

The apparatus includes a rotatable platform 2 on which can be placed a conventional can 1 fitted internally with a base plate supported by a compression spring. A drive shaft indicated at 3 rotates the platform 2 through a gear 4. In a frame 7 above the can is rotatably mounted a disc or rotatable guide member 8, which is driven through gears 5 and 6 by the shaft 3, for example at a rotational speed times greater than the platform 2. The disc is formed with a radially extending slot 9, which may, if desired, be inclined in relation to the direction of rotation of the disc 8 as shown in FIG. 6. On the upper surface of the disc a rod 10 is mounted for reciprocation in the radial direction of the disc, the rod being formed with a guide orifice 12. A follower pin 13 fixed to the rod 10 runs in a groove 14 of a face cam 11. The face cam is held stationary immediately above the surface of the rotating disc 8, and it will be seen that the rotation ofthe disc 8 will cause the rod 10 to reciprocate radially of the disc under the control of the cam. The cam groove has a heart shape which is designed to confer on the orifice 12 a locus following the curve B in FIG. 3. As explained above, this locus results in optimal evenness of density of coiled sliver in the can.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for coiling a strand of textile fibers in a sliver can comprising:

means for supporting said can with its longitudinal axis extending in a predetermined direction;

a guide member mounted for rotation at the mouth of the can about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said can on said support means and through which the textile strand is fed into said can with a rotary coiling motion;

means defining a guide orifice supported on said guide member for movement radially thereof and of the longitudinal axis ofthe can;

means for rotating said guide member, and

means for imparting to said orifice defining means a reciprocating motion radially of said guide member and the can simultaneous with the rotary movement of said guide member, wherein said reciprocating motion means for the orifice defining means comprises a stationary cam means and a cam follower operatively carried by said orifice defining means and engaging said cam means as said uide member rotates. 2. he apparatus of claim I wherein said orifice-defining means includesa rod member slidably mounted on the guide member and having an orifice, said guide member having a radial perpendicular slot opening into the top of the can and underlying the rod member in registry with the orifice and said reciprocating means comprises a cam follower carried by the rod member and a cam stationary with respect to the rotating guide member and engaging said follower as said guide member rotates.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further including means for rotating said can support means, and wherein said guide member rotating means is adapted to rotate said member at a high speed relative to the rotation of said can.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said stationary cam means has a cam surface with a heart-shaped configuration. 

1. Apparatus for coiling a strand of textile fibers in a sliver can comprising: means for supporting said can with its longitudinal axis extending in a predetermined direction; a guide member mounted for rotation at the mouth of the can about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said can on said support means and through which the textile strand is fed into said can with a rotary coiling motion; means defining a guide orifice supported on said guide member for movement radially thereof and of the longitudinal axis of the can; means for rotating said guide member, and means for imparting to said orifice defining mEans a reciprocating motion radially of said guide member and the can simultaneous with the rotary movement of said guide member, wherein said reciprocating motion means for the orifice defining means comprises a stationary cam means and a cam follower operatively carried by said orifice defining means and engaging said cam means as said guide member rotates.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said orifice-defining means includes a rod member slidably mounted on the guide member and having an orifice, said guide member having a radial perpendicular slot opening into the top of the can and underlying the rod member in registry with the orifice and said reciprocating means comprises a cam follower carried by the rod member and a cam stationary with respect to the rotating guide member and engaging said follower as said guide member rotates.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 further including means for rotating said can support means, and wherein said guide member rotating means is adapted to rotate said member at a high speed relative to the rotation of said can.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said stationary cam means has a cam surface with a heart-shaped configuration. 